Another day another chapter and another day for Trix to struggle though with the knowledge that Bellatrix is her mother. Oh wasn't I just cruel to Severus lat chapter in what the Dark Lord made him do? I got reviews of 'oh my gos it's Bellatrix' or similar but no one told me I was a meanie for what I did to Severus which I was kind of expecting.

Anyway onto today's chapter of duelling, stolen kisses and the repercussions of both! Hope you enjoy!

"Wake up!" Laura shouted far too early in the morning.

In her half asleep state Trix thought she sounded annoyed and so cracked one of her eyes open and brushed the curtain aside. Laura was stood near her bed with her hands on her hips glaring down at her.

"Duelling class started five minutes ago." She said.

"What? We haven't even had breakfast yet." Trix yawned.

"We have. You slept through it. Severus," she made a face at the unusual use of his name, "sent me up here to bring you down before Flitwick notices your absence."

Well I've got a bloody good reason to be all sluggish, Trix thought. After all it was only the other day I found out that my mother is a Death Eater extraordinaire and is out to kill my dad. As if anyone else would be up or a bunch of early morning when they've just found out that their mother probably would have killed you if ordered to. As if anyone would want to admit to people that their mother was the Dark Lords 'best and last lieutenant. As if… "Wait." Trix sat up. "He's helping to get me out of trouble?"

"Just get dressed. And quickly. I'm missing Sam trying to disarm your dad. You know he should have got Outstanding in his OWL but he fell asleep in the written exam. Flu you know."

Trix got dressed in whatever clothes came to hand, picked up her wand, pulled some shoes, or rather Eyore slippers, on and they both hurried out the room.

Down in the common room all the furniture had been moved to the sides of the room and all but two people were sat around on the furniture. Sam and Severus were stood in the centre of the room eyeing each other up. Their wands were raised at chest level.

Laura squeezed in next to Sophia at a table and Trix stood behind them.

"Not missed much." Sophia whispered. "Should get interesting now."

"He doesn't stand a chance." Trix whispered not taking her eyes off Sam, waiting for the disarming blow to come.

Tension filled the room. Everyone was hoping Sam was going to win but they all knew that in reality, like Trix said, he didn't stand a chance. The first spell came from Severus but was adeptly rebounded by Sam. People began cheering and wishing their house mate well. Trix watched in silence analysing their movements, speed of their reactions and how they coped with the power of the spells being thrown at them.

Severus, predictably, faired better, his skill and experience far superior to Sam's. With barely a flick of his wand he sent Sam spinning into a corner. Deceptively slowly Sam picked himself up. Seemingly exhausted he leant against a chair but then shouted a flurry of spells that distracted Severus for a moment and a disarming spell flew towards him but was swiftly blocked.

A couple of gasps arose from the onlookers but they were quickly quietened by stray spells and people were suddenly drawing their wands and shielding themselves. A few first years hid under tables and behind chairs or rather tall people.

Whilst everyone was distracted Severus disarmed Sam, stunning him at the same time.

Severus helped him up and passed his wand back to him.

"Well," Professor Flitwick said, "you all know the standard we expect. Get into pairs and begin. Sam… take a moment to recover."

Sam, being helped to stay up right by Severus, walked over to where Laura had vacated her seat for him.

"Whose brilliant idea was that?" Sam lethargically asked rubbing his head.

"Mine actually." Severus said. "Sophia, Steven, go against Trixabelle. You will do well if you can disarm her."

Trix narrowed her eyes at him wishing he'd given her some warning.

"A problem, Miss Snape?" he asked.

"No, Professor."

"I hate that man." Trix groaned an hour and a half later.

She was in the hospital wing with severe concussion after tripping over in the duelling class and hitting the back of her head on the sharp corner of a metal edged table. She could feel a bandage brushing against her eyebrows in the most annoying possible way. She was too weak to move it out of her field of vision. She strongly suspected she looked like a hippy.

Something rustled to her left and a weight dipped the bed slightly. A shadow darkened her vision which was still blurry. She blinked a few times. A pale, drawn face was looking down at her.

"Dad?" she murmured and blinked some more.

"You're lucky to be alive." He took her hand in his. It was slowly getting warmer. "Do you remember anything of what happened?"

"Did I fall over in the dorm or something? Laura woke me up. What happened?"

"You should learn to duel in something other than house shoes. In the duelling class you were fighting Sophia and Steven. They knocked you to the floor. You got up, disarmed Sophia. Steven tried to hex you and instead of using a shield you tried to move out the way and tripped over the ear of the slipper. Do you remember nothing of it? Nothing at all?"

"How is everyone?"

"Worried."

Madam Pomfrey bustled over with a bottle of medicine which she forced Trix to drink even though she detested the taste. A few minutes later she felt strong enough to sit up and lean against the headboard.

"Can I have something to eat?" she looked to the end of her bed for the first time. A vast pile of chocolates and sweets were piled there. She grimaced.

Severus picked up a covered tray from the bedside table. On it were sandwiches and two glasses of pumpkin juice. Trix took a glass and drank some.

"I would have thought that you would be staying away from this after Hogsmeade…" she trailed off remembering that half of what she thought had happened actually hadn't. In an effort to cheer herself up she tried to make a joke but her voice was still sad. "Especially after the goblets. Do you have any napkins to hand?"

She stayed in the hospital wing for the rest of the day and the whole night even though she told Madam Pomfrey the only reason she was staying was because she would lose her house points if she sneaked out. She felt fine and knew that a night in the isolation of the hospital wing wouldn't do her any good. She wanted to go the common room, alone, to see if she remembered what happened. She didn't want anyone to be there if she remembered.

The night was restless for her and she awoke in the morning with puffy, red rimmed eyes and a dry throat. Some breakfast was on a table to her right but she ignored it preferring to eat sweets and chocolate, getting a less than pleased look from Madam Pomfrey. At lunchtime she was free to go.

Taking shortcuts she made her way to the common room.

Inside the empty room everything was as normal. Weak winter sun filtered through the tall arched windows, chairs and tables stood in their usual places and the fire was burning. Book cases and cabinets lined the one of the walls and the painting of the Ravenclaw founder stood over the fire stretching high above her.

Everything was as she expected but she knew that the last time she was in the room she had been duelling. The floor would have been cleared and people would have been standing opposite each other throwing spells and blocking them, moving them out of the way.

She had no recollection.

She turned on the spot. Steven was sat on a coffee table looking at it more then her.

"The table was stood on its end over in the corner there." he said.

"I always did like that table." Trix said weakly and smiled.

Steven sighed and slowly stood.

"I'm sorry Trix."

She shrugged. "I don't actually remember anything."

"You should have seen him." he shook his head and swallowed. "He… He was… He froze. Just for a second but he froze."

"He… Wait. He actually froze?"

"He was amazing after that. Moved everyone away, used a healing spell and then swept out of the room holding you in his arms like you weighed nothing more than a… a leaf. Ignored Madam Pomfrey when she told us all to leave."

"He was… marking homework when I woke up."

"Sophia sneaked back in and gave him something to do. She said he would be going crazy. Everyone was really worried. Have you seen Sam yet?"

"No." Trix lowered herself into a chair and stared out the window.

"You should." Steven got up and rested a hand on her shoulder. "He's worried."

"You said everyone was worried." She said after he'd taken a few steps towards the door.

"I should never have put her against two people without being there." Severus was in his office reading through essays giving most of them a 'D'.

Filius had been trying to talk sense into him for the past half a day without success. The office was starting to feel claustrophobic – the fire had been left unattended and was burning far too bright and hot, there were still numerous sheepskins in chairs and draped over instruments.

"She'll be fine, Severus. I saw her walking to the common room." he picked up a piece of parchment that had fallen on the floor and read the first few sentences. "Dreadful, Severus? You may want to give that one an Outstanding."

"She would have been better sooner if I had not hesitated." He clenched his fist around the quill he was holding. A moment later he went back to marking.

Filius reached over the desk and took the parchment from his hand and lay it on top of another pile. Severus watched remembering his daughter, who had almost died because of his hesitation, doing exactly the same thing.

"Hesitations are natural. You did all you could. You can't expect to be perfect all the time."

"It is not a question of expecting perfection but of what I expect from myself."

"Then you expect too much." Certain that he wasn't making any progress Filius clambered down from his chair and left the room calling a greeting to Trixabelle as he closed the door.

A few moments later Severus heard a muffled squeak. Throwing the door open he saw Samuel Letcher spring away from his daughter and stare at him with wide eyes. Trixabelle too stared at him for a moment with as much surprise as a person could manage but Severus's eyes were intently trained upon Samuel whose mouth kept opening and closing.

"I'll… err… let you explain." Trixabelle wisely said and stepped away.

Samuel glanced at her then back at Severus and gulped. Severus took a step back inside his office and Samuel obediently followed. The door slammed closed behind him ominously.

"Explain yourself." Severus said.

"Well, Sir –"

"Do not 'sir' me when we are talking matters of the heart." Severus snarled and held Samuel's collar with both of his hands. Putting their faces close together he continued, "I successfully protected her from the Dark Lord I will not let a boy like you hurt her. Believe me if I learn that you have hurt her I will not hesitate to kill you myself. The only mercy you shall receive will be if Trixabelle asks for it."

Slowly he released him and walked towards his desk. Before he was five paces away from it he suddenly turned. "Do you love her?"

"Since the moment I saw her."

He'd be a hypocrite if he denied Samuel his chance. He thought once again of Lily Evans, of how he still loved her even though she was long lost to him. The world had been cruel to him. He could not impose the same cruelty on another.

"Does Trixabelle return the feelings?"

"I hardly know."

"Yet you think it wise to kiss her?"

"I do not know what I was thinking." He said desperately. "I wasn't thinking."

"Fools in love rarely do."

The boy hesitated on the verge of asking a question but wondering if it was pertinent. He took a breath, held it for a moment and then spoke.

"Then I have your blessing?"

"Yes."

"Thank you." He fought to keep a straight face. Deciding that this was blessing enough he turned to leave.

"You'd be a fool to think I'm done with you yet." Severus said in a soft voice. "Sit down, Sam."

The boy turned back round and chose a modest stool and sat in front of the desk. Severus sat behind it looking down at him from his higher seat. The boy was, he supposed, of the studious nature and knew from experience prone to blushing. Back in his OWL years he'd been a promising Defence Against the Dark Arts student who had suddenly stopped classes because of an inconvenient case of flu meaning he didn't get the required grades to progress onto N.E.W.T. At the time Severus had tried to help him. He'd talked to Professor Montgomery into letting him continue the class; however a sense of fairness akin to a Gryffindor had taken over the boy and he refused to be treated with preference and did not take the class.

This sense of humbling fairness was one of his strengths and weaknesses but a quality that stood him in good stead. It would do him well in later life if he did not make his previous mistake. Severus also knew him to be one of the brightest in his year who was wasting his talents on subjects such as Art and Care of magical Creatures.

"What exactly is it that you want to do with your life?"

"Art –"

"Answer truthfully."

He blushed. "I had hoped to be an Auror."

The blushing would not do him well but observing him in the class room and when Trixabelle had had her second vision meant Severus knew that when he was using magic he was completely focused and had no time for such reservations. In short the boy was one of the best he was teaching.

"You should have taken the offer. You still take Transfigurations?"

"Yes."

"Herbology and charms?"

"Yes."

"What are your designs for the future?"

"My – my designs? Sir?"

"Your plans, Mr. Letcher, had you been an Auror."

He paused to think for a moment.

"To contribute the best I could. To work well as part of a team to provide as best as I could for my family."

Modest. But the best he could hope for from someone who still knew so little of the world.

"Will you make her happy?"

"I can only try. I'll hate myself forever if I can't."

"If she wants you." Severus said sharply.

"Of course."

The interview lasted for some hours as Severus filled in the gaps of the jigsaw he'd been creating of the boy since he'd acquainted himself with his daughter. When at last he was satisfied that he would not hurt her Severus beckoned him over to some paintings he had. All depicted the results of painful curses. The last he showed, the one Samuel looked at longest, was of the Cruciatus Curse.

"If you ever hurt her you will feel the effects of my wand. Understood?"

"Perfectly."

The first class of Monday morning was sixth year NEWT. Trixabelle had caught up with all the homework she had missed, read everything she was behind on and was now sitting with Sophia supposedly working in silence.

" – Didn't get back until after midnight. Was white as a ghost and wouldn't talk about it. Any idea what happened?" Sophia whispered behind her book. As if that would stop Severus hearing her.

Trixabelle leant towards her as if that too would stop him seeing her. "He saw me outside Dad's office and we were talking. Next thing I know he's kissing me and Dad's thrown the door open." Sophia gasped. "Interrogation most likely."

"You haven't seen him since have you?"

"No. I'm surprised he's still alive –"

A book whacked the back of their heads.

"I am not without mercy." Severus said. "Usually."

After he'd taken a few paces they started whispering again.

"Well what are you going to do when you see him?"

Severus hit them with his book again silently hoping that it wasn't hurting Trixabelle's already injured head too much. Injury or not he had to treat her exactly the same way as he did all his students. "Explain the sudden loss of points if you do not be quiet."

So now we have an over protective father, a confused Trix and people getting whacked with books a la potions master of late. Hope you enjoyed it, please review!

Next time it's the Christmas holiday and Trix reveals a little about her time in France and going to school at Beauxbatons.

J.K. Rowling owns the wonderful world of Harry Potter